April Showers Brought May Flowers

This morning I woke up to the wonderful surprise of my youngest grand baby girl Rylee kissing me on the cheek. She was here to stay the weekned with her daddy who built a home next door to us. She was excited to see what all had grown in the garden since her last visit! She had my first Gerbera Daisy of the year clutched tightly in her little hands, "Momo, look what I brought you" she exlaimed excitedly. I recognized it's bright orange hued petals that it was the flower by the front door garden. The day progressed with chasing the chickens while Momo fed and watered, picking and eating every strawberry the garden had abundantly blessed us with this week, and trampling the calendula seedlings that had germinated from last years crop. Watching that sweet little face stuffing herself with sweet juicy red berries made all the weeding, watering and worry worth every moment of my time. She is 4 and I hope these memories fill her with joy later on in her life.

The floral show has begun it's spectacle for me here at THRIVE green witch farm. The Yukon Gold, Kennebec, and Russet potatoes I planted in March have grown into full bushy, bright green plants. The Watermelon radish has progressed past the true leaf stage and is thickening up into spicy nutrient packed root crops underground. Yaya, Goldstone, Cosmic Purple and Scarlet Nantes carrots have all sprouted like mini blades of grass in tiny rows spaced carefully side by side in the garden. The many heirloom tomatoes like Black Krim, Golden Jubilee, Peacevine, Matt's Wild Cherry, Juanne Flamme, Cherokee Purple and Toma Verde Tomatillas are all sprouted and potted up into 4 inch containers filled with the very best handcrafted soil Just Right rich mix. I will be placing some tomatoes over the carrots because of the plant companion guide says that carrots love tomatoes! We'll see, it's all a big science experiment gone wild out here in my gardens,

Yankee Lettuce Mix is a blend of beautiful heirloom salad and lettuce mix. It has sprouted in the pizza box pallet garden and the rainbow of colors are making me anxious to grab a bottle of herbed oil salad dressing! Also popping up and out are Kweik and Green Towers Romaine lettuce, Bull's Blood Beet, Belle Isle Cress, Santo Cilantro and Lemon Balm.

Beans that we have started are Kentucky Wonder pole and bush and some Provider bush green beans for canning and cooking fresh. In the dry bean category I have a Light Red Kidney, Jacob's Cattle, Dragon Langerie, and Black Turtle Dry Beans growing strong and healthy.

Golden Globe Turnip sure likes a SmartPot with good soil, they are doing great and I'm actively searching for a good turnip recipe.

I need to start some regular crookneck type squash, mine did not sprout. I germinated them in soil that had to much nutrient from rabbit poo. I did, however, get some Bennings Green Tint Scallop Squash and some Costata Romanesco Zucchini ready to be transplanted into the big garden.

Peppers need potting up, that's all I have left to pot up for extra care before setting in the big garden. We have Cayenne Ring O' Fire (LMFAO) Orange Habenero, Sweet Corno Del Toro, Hungarian Hot Wax, Early Jalepeno, Sweet Yellow & Red California Wonder and Giant Aconcagua, an arm length Hot Banana type pepper.

Sugar Queen cantaloup melons are what we picked up at a plant stand on the side of the highway in Lexington. I hope they are non GMO, the lady who ran the plant store did not know what a GMO seed was and that was scary. I havent actually set those in the ground yet and havnt decided if I will until I can find out for sure.

We have chosen all heirloom and open pollinated seeds so that we can save the seed from here on out, generation to generation. I have no hybids or plants I do not know the history from where the seed has been grown, harvested, and saved reliably

I hope tales from my garden inspire you to start one of your own growing organic food. The value is priceless and the experience life changing. April flowers have brought my garden some May flowers, only this year the flowers are on plants that produce food, fiber, spice, herb and or medicine. The choices are endless for useful plants.